Just got a 65 NL320

[Steve N 69]

Hello, I just got this NL320 from a friend. Its an L.A. barn find. Its been sitting here behind a house in LA since 1985. I think its a one owner truck. Not sure which way to go with the resurection yet, but it looks like it will a be pretty fun ride.

 

 

 

 

Here it is at my shop after 3 trash cans of crap was pulled out of it, and a quick hose off.

 

 

 

 

The grill was in the bed, but there is no sign of the tail lights. Is there any chance of finding some?

 

Thanks, Steve Nestlerode

[69wagon]

nice find :D

[skunk]

nice truck, great find. how is the engine?

[wayno]

Welcome to Ratsun, keep looking for the taillights, i would ask the former owner to look for them if possible, maybe there in their garage/barn in a cubby hole. There are a lot of NL owners looking for taillights and the bezels(chrome rings around the lenses), as they are very rare in good condition, fact is there rare in any condition. Look under and behind the seats, look everywhere. It looks like a fairly strait pickup, nice find. wayno

[Steve N 69]

Thanks everyone.

 

The engine was pulled apart, looks like around '85, that was the last year of registration. Everything above the block was in the bed, uncovered, since then. But it looks like its all there.

 

I got the truck ( seems too small to call a truck) from a friend who moved into her uncle's house, after he died. I'll try to get back there and go through his sheds to look for the tail lights again, but it was a MESS, and my friend has allready moved out of there. I was hoping they were inside the cab, but no such luck.

 

 

Later, Steve

[wayno]

This is the general appearance of the taillight assembly, your lenses are likely just plain red.

This is my pickup with a roadster hood scoop.

[jefe de jefes]

Nice find!

[Steve N 69]

Thanks Wayno. I looked at your paint thread a while back, Awesome job, I love the color combo.

 

Heres how mine looks in the back. Are these lights under the long lenses? or were they added by PO?

[bob72gts]

Thanks Wayno. I looked at your paint thread a while back, Awesome job, I love the color combo.

 

Heres how mine looks in the back. Are these lights under the long lenses? or were they added by PO?

 

If the PO bolted those trailer lights on there, it is pretty safe to say the originals are long gone. I wouldn't expect to find them in any of the old guys sheds or other piles but it can't hurt to look.

[burrito213]

a true NL320 in L.A.???.... :hyper:

 

nice find. let me tell you that this is a sweet truck to work on but parts can be hard to find. however, being in california is a good place to be to run into parts that you need.

 

your front turn signals in white or orange should be on e bay right now

 

the chrome taillight bezels are a hard find, i am trying to find a spare i can have for that just in case scenario. if i run into some i will let you know. the true NL red taillights come from clausstudios but we dont really know when he is willing to remake those again.

 

there is a L320 in pick-a-part in ontario off milliken with some parts on there.

 

there are also a disk brake conversion for your truck to make for a safer ride.

 

good luck on your build. as of what i think, there is roughly 3-4 NL's in los angeles county alone so as much as that is for one location, it is still pretty small in comparison.

 

from some whom i have talked to throught time, you are still a step a head of the rest. you have an NL. :thumbup:

 

 

 

 

[Steve N 69]

I was afraid of that. I was hoping that the big lenses went over the round ones that are on mine now.

 

I was thinking today,.If I can borrow or rent a set of trim rings from someone, I could make a mould and cast as many as I need in fiberglass, if the lenses are ever going to be available again that is. Are they the same, or right and left sides?

 

 

I put some more pics up here if anyone wants to have a look. theres also a build up gallery of my 69 Camaro on that site.

 

My Galleries

[wayno]

Do not throw anything away, the bent/dented rear trim is going to have to be fixed, you are not likely to find replacement trim. The metal fixture/plate that the taillights are bolted to are the stock lense core support I beleave, if they are good enough to save, your a third of the way there. That plywood has taken a toll on the lower inner rear box sides. That rear bumper is in good shape considering, and very rare. The tailgate is in awesome shape. I repeat, do not throw anything away till you have a replacement. I have another month to go before I call Greg Clauss about the taillight lenses, he told me to call him back in june. Keep us updated, there are a few of us with a very limited supply of extra parts for these trucks.

[wayno]

I forgot to tell you to keep your eyes peeled for these parts also, they go below the taillight bezels and are not on your truck in the photos. These are bent a little, but you should have seen them before they were worked on, these photos will give you an idea what to look for. wayno

[Steve N 69]

Cool Thanks for the info. Looks like someone rearended you truck and went right over the bumper, Wayno. The bed side took the most damage of the harsh LA weather, but I'm no stranger to repairing rusted out steel, just need to find a way to match the contours of the inner bed sides.

[wayno]

If you are going to try to make it perfect, start on the outside and work your way in, a bed (tonneu?) cover will hide a lot, the inside of my bed looks like shit, but I am thinking about a bed cover myself, I just don't want to drill any holes in the truck at this moment, so I will have to build a frame of some type that will hold the cover in position without flying out going down the hiway. wayno

 

 

[74datsun620]

Welcome to Ratsun!!!! :cool:Nice strait looking 320 nl!!!!!!!

[transporter]

Nice truck. I just found one a few days ago here in San Antonio. The engine is running and it actually has the correct tail lights. I pick it up tomorrow morning. I can hardly sleep I am so excited about starting the work on this project. Unfortunately I do not have a ton of money to put into it but I can take the time and work on it when I can to make at least a little progress. The one problem that I have is that the guy does not have the title. So I have to figure out how to get a title for the truck so I can put it on the road.

[transporter]

Thanks Wayno. I looked at your paint thread a while back, Awesome job, I love the color combo.

 

Heres how mine looks in the back. Are these lights under the long lenses? or were they added by PO?

 

If I were in the situation where I did not have the original lights and bezels.... I would probably put in some tails off of a 1999 Cadillac Deville. They are nice long and slender and could be frenched in if you don't mind not following with the original design.... Luckily mine has the original tails. I will post up pics tomorrow.

 

Transporter.....